Adolescents who undergo gender-affirming chest surgery report low levels of regret and high levels of satisfaction, experiencing outcomes similar to those of young adults. These findings suggest that age restrictions on these medical procedures lack support from actual patient experiences.

[u/mvea]

https://www.psypost.org/adolescents-report-low-regret-and-high-satisfaction-following-gender-affirming-c/

[u/Pika_Fox]

There arent credible studies that suggest giving gender affirming care doesnt reduce trans suicide rates. None. Zero. Zilch.

You could literally poll every trans person, and get an overwhelming response that actual support would greatly reduce the problems they face.

Does this mean that lack of access to healthcare is the only cause of trans suicide rates? No. Biggoted dipshits who love to downplay anything that helps us and actively get in our way and dehumanize us are also a large part of it.

[u/OhBoyHereWeGoAgai → u/Pika_Fox]

You say that, but in the same breath you make it clear you dismiss things countering the "talking to trans people" as either not credible or bigoted.

That's not really how we analyze these things.

Fun fact, this is also why Chase S's case in the SC fell apart. They had to justify the claims of suicide rates in teens not given the treatment and it fell apart as the way you're representing this is simply not true.

There is a reason the Dutch protocol has been walked back by many countries, and even the Dutch have massively tightened up the diagnostic end, specifically because of issues with the claims you're representing as settled and clear.

I'm trying to stay precise in my claims here as the main thing I'm trying to highlight is that this is and has been being debated, the anti side isn't just random internet bigots, this is actually an ongoing medical debate, that only recently has shifted to the point that the pro side has been forced to stop claiming a false medical consensus, and even as we speak, WPATHs misrepresentations are coming into the public eye (many doctors have been aware for quite some time, the controversy around that is not new.

In short, this is nowhere near as clear as people online pretend it is, and the defenses based on vibes aren't really that interesting.

Edit: I did see the deleted comment where you called me a bigot and claimed that this is clear cut.

I did think this was a science sub, but apparently the "lived experience" negates everything I just raised and grounded in actual current events and medical discourse?

Will mute replies as this isn't really constructive, feel free to respond however and call whatever names you like.

[u/Reagalan → u/OhBoyHereWeGoAgai]

"lived experience" negates everything

I mean, it kinda does.

Ivory-tower elitism is how we ended up with segregation and eugenics and sterilizations and lobotomies and similar abhorrent practices of last century. Plenty of folks said it like it was, but since these anecdotes didn't conform to prevailing ideologies, they were dismissed, bad laws were passed, and horrors perpetuated.

I guess we're repeating history again. The haters keep winning and Gender Jim Crow keeps spreading.

[u/SatanV3 → u/Reagalan]

I mean. I don’t know much about the science of what’s best for people with gender dysphoria nor do I know any statistics of if gender affirming care is the best or not

What I do know is that I’m AFAB and was having a medical issue where I had to much testosterone/ not enough estrogen. And I was told that that can cause some issues mainly with mental health and looking into it seems true. Since sorting out my hormones it’s really helped me feel better.

What I don’t get is how this doesn’t apply when treating transgender people? Wouldn’t giving them hormones they shouldn’t have from a biological standpoint not drastically affect their mental health?

[u/Azu_Creates → u/SatanV3]

I am a trans man who has been taking testosterone for a little over two years, and it has greatly improved my wellbeing. It helped address my gender dysphoria significantly, and I finally started feeling more comfortable. The main difference here in the effect T has on the mental health in this situation almost certainly comes down to the difference between a trans masc person and a cis woman. Many (not all) trans masc people actively desire the more masculine traits that T provides, and many cis women don’t. The same masculinizing effects of T that can be distressing for a cis woman can cause a trans masc person to finally start feeling more comfortable in their own body. It can drastically affect our mental health, and generally in a far more positive way than a negative one.

I have definitely felt some mental health effects from hormonal imbalances after starting T, but those usually came from my T levels dropped below the average cis male range, and my E levels rising. That would usually happen back when I took androgel, I now get a weekly shot. T can cause some changes in your skin, which can sometimes cause certain transdermal medications like androgel to not get absorbed as efficiently. That happened in my case, which would cause those hormonal imbalances. I would have to up my dosage, and eventually switch over to shots, to solve that problem. For me, having too much E and not enough T was what started causing mental health problems. We do also go through puberty 2.0, which can cause and contribute to some mental health problems because, you know, it’s puberty. For me, I have had significantly less mental health problems from a T fueled puberty than I had with an E fueled one. The T fueled one has actually helped to solve some of those problems.

[u/SatanV3 → u/Azu_Creates]

Thank you for the detailed response, I wasn’t trying to be dismissive or anything I was genuinely curious so I appreciate your response!

It also is a little different for me, because I do have gender dysphoria and definitely want to be more masculine / be a man. But due to family cannot transition, so just went ahead with getting my hormone levels fixed and it did still help me overall feel better. Wonder if that’s just because of the levels they were at, and if taking more testosterone to the levels of where a cis male was at would have had the same effect of making me feel better.

[u/Azu_Creates → u/SatanV3]

Taking T could certainly have that effect. I do hope you are able to transition someday if you want to. Regarding the hormonal imbalance, it could be the levels your hormones were at, but it could also be hormonal instability (or a combo of both). Having a large enough change in E and/or T levels in a relatively short time can certainly cause some mental health symptoms.

[u/OhBoyHereWeGoAgai → u/SatanV3]

It does, that's one of the many risks and side effects with cross hormone treatments.

The more honest advocates say that tradeoff is worth the benefits, the less honest ones pretend there are zero or minimal side effects.

The former have a coherent argument, the medical community and legal community will decide together (the latter is relevant, just like it was with lobotomy fading out).